Wishing You All A Very Happy, Joyful and Prosperous Pickleball-Filled New Year!

Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

• 5 Hidden Mistakes in Every Drive Shot

• The Bathroom Habit That Protects Your Pickleball Season

• DRILL OF THE WEEK: The Crosshairs Target Practice

• Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Why Is Foam Rolling So Important?

• Pickleball Olympic Dreams Given Boost With Merger Plans Of Dueling International Federations

• 2026 USA Pickleball Rulebook Change Document

• Former University of Minnesota Kicker Given New Kidney Thanks To His Pickleball Partner

• 2026 APP Tour Evolution: Bigger Impact, More Scale, Enhanced Pro Player Platform

• Hot Take Or Impending Truth? Team Quang Duong Makes Bold Claim

• Coach Mary: Should You Spend More Time Drilling or Playing?

🥷SKILLS

5 Hidden Mistakes In
Every Drop Shot

Most drive problems are not about strength, spin, or paddle choice. They come from timing, spacing, and intent. Players often think they miss drives because they are not hitting hard enough, when in reality they are hitting from poor positions, at the wrong moment, or with the wrong goal in mind. A clean, effective drive is built on balance, patience, and purpose, not force.

Here are the hidden mistakes that quietly sabotage most drive shots.

Driving From a Bad Base

One of the most common drive errors happens before the swing even starts. Players try to drive while moving forward, leaning backward, or standing tall with their weight floating. From an unstable base, the paddle face becomes inconsistent and control disappears.

A good drive starts from a balanced position. Knees are bent, feet are settled, and weight is slightly forward. Think of it as a mini split-step before you swing: your feet settle for a brief moment, your balance is centered, and then you drive. If your feet are still scrambling as you swing, the drive will almost always float or spray.

This mistake shows up most often in the transition zone, where rushed drives sit up for easy counters.

💪 Health & Fitness Section
Weekly Advice To Keep You Fit & Injury Free

The Bathroom Habit That Protects
Your Pickleball Season

You know that careful shuffle across the parking lot when there’s ice between you and the court? That half-second calculation – if I slip here, I’m out for weeks? 

That feeling has probably been getting stronger. And it’s not paranoia. Something in your balance system has actually changed. 

But here’s what’s interesting: there’s a 60-second habit you’re already doing twice a day that can fix it. You just have to do it a little differently. 

The balance system that keeps you upright on ice is the same one that lets you plant, pivot, and react when you’re up at the net. And you can train it without leaving your bathroom. 

Let me explain what’s actually going on – and why this works. 

The Real Reason You Feel Less Steady 

Balance isn’t just leg strength. It’s a whole system – your inner ear, your vision, and the tiny sensors in your feet and ankles all working together in real time. When you’re young, this system runs on autopilot. After 50, it starts needing reminders. 

You’ve probably noticed it in small ways already. That wobble when you bend down to pick up a ball. The way you reach for the wall now when you used to just stand. It’s not weakness – it’s a system that’s gone too long without practice. 

🥷DRILL OF THE WEEK

The Crosshairs Target Practice

This week’s drill breaks down how to train real aiming instead of just rallying for rhythm. Using a simple wall setup and crosshair-style targets, it zeroes in on paddle face control, footwork, and contact point — the same skills that decide kitchen exchanges and resets in actual games.

Try the drill, track your accuracy, and see how quickly “hoping” for placement turns into hitting exactly where you want.

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Why Is Foam Rolling So Important?

🗞️NEWS

Pickleball Olympic Dreams Given
Boost With Merger Plans Of
Dueling Federations

Pickleball’s Olympic push just got a real jolt: the sport’s two rival international federations are now in talks to merge into a single governing body — the kind of unification pickleball needs to standardize rules, coordinate national bodies, and build the credibility required for regional games and eventual Olympic consideration.

See what the merger could change, why it matters for Brisbane 2032, and what still has to happen for pickleball to clear the Olympic hurdles.

NEWS

2026 USA Pickleball
Rulebook Change Document

USA Pickleball’s 2026 Rulebook Change Document is the quick-guide to what’s new (and why), covering everything from cleaner serve placement language and prompt “out” calls to tougher conduct penalties, rally-scoring tweaks, and major additions for wheelchair and adaptive standing play.

Skim the updates that’ll actually change your next match — then pick 2–3 rules to share with your regular group so everyone’s playing the same game.

👏 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Former University Of Minnesota
Kicker Given New Kidney Thanks
To His Pickleball Partner

A Minnesota pickleball partnership took an extraordinary turn when a former University of Minnesota football player received a life-saving kidney from the teammate he met on the court. What began as friendly competition grew into a bond strong enough to change — and save — a life.

Read how pickleball led to an act of brotherhood neither man will ever forget.
See more here…

 🏓 PRO NEWS

2026 APP Tour Evolution:
Bigger Impact, More Scale
Enhanced Pro Player Platform

The APP is reshaping its 2026 tour around fewer, bigger events, with larger prize purses, expanded fan experiences, and a major increase in nationally televised coverage. The new structure also adds pro invitationals and a global calendar that gives players more earning power and visibility worldwide.

See how the revamped schedule, TV push, and festival-style events could change what the APP Tour looks like next year, click here…

👏 PRO NEWS

Hot Take or Impending Truth?
Team Quang Duong Makes Bold Claim

A bold claim out of Vietnam is stirring conversation across the pickleball world. Quang Duong and his camp say Asia is on the verge of producing nearly half of the sport’s top male players — and they’re pointing to recent results and rapid growth to back it up.

See why this prediction is turning heads and what it could mean for pickleball’s global future, click here…

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

SUSSEX COUNTY, DE: Looking Back At A Decade Of Local Pickleball BY Vaughn Baker
MELFA, VA: Two Friends Open Courts For Popular Sport
AUSTIN, TX: 7 Pickleball Padel Courts Expanding Austin's Racquet Sports Scene
THORNTON, CO: Adaptive Pickleball Expands Access Across Colorado
SANTA BARBARA, CA: First Indoor Pickleball Facility Coming To The South Coast
ORLANDO, FL: USTA Florida Steps Up to Operate Crandon Park Tennis Center
PINELLAS COUNTY, FL: Pickleball took over Pinellas in 2025
MYRTLE BEACH, SC: The PicklePort Coming to Myrtle Beach


DO YOU HAVE LOCAL NEWS TO SHARE? REACH OUT TO US AT
[email protected] and send us a link to your story!

 💪 Should I Spend More Time
Drilling or Playing?

Here's a tough-to-answer question. What's the best way to get better at pickleball, by playing or by practicing?

Drill or play?

Instructor Kyle Koszuta just recently asked the same question “How Much Should You Drill vs Play?”

He said it is not about time, or a ratio.  You are really asking “How do you get better faster in the time you currently have?” Here are some of his thoughts?

If you are new to the sport, start playing, and hold off drilling:  Why?  Because you need to learn what it is that you need to learn and improve!   I personally do not agree with this for beginners that are not from an athletic background.  They need to learn how to be balanced, how to incorporate your hips and shoulders, and other basics.

Drilling Math:   Instead of trying something new in game situations, you should drill 5 minutes a day on a specific skill, then put it into game play later that day.  Kyle says you get a 2000 percent return when you drill 5 minutes, then play for 2 hours.  It is not just about doing more reps.  He quotes Anders Ericsson, who states that you must practice with intent and get feedback, so you actually know what to fix.  This is called Deliberate Practice.

1. Intention:  Before you start, decide what you’re working on and why.  After you finish, reflect with questions like this:

• What was I trying to do?

• What actually happened?

• What will I change next time?

2. Feedback: You need something or someone outside yourself telling you what’s really happening, not what you think is happening.  Our memories of what we did on court aren’t typically very good, or accurate.

• Film yourself.

• Get a coach.

• Sign up for online Pickleball lessons or join an online Pickleball School.

• Download Pickleball Vision, which is an AI tool.

Without feedback, you might be reinforcing the wrong skill set.3. Only Drilling is Not Enough!

• Drills Teach your Body “How”.

• Games Teach your Body “When”.

• Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

This is quite a bit of information, but take some time to watch his video, and take notes. Here is my final input:  Drill on a skill, then put it into a lead-up or modified game situation, then in a full game situation.  You will not learn the skill only in a controlled drill.  You will gain confidence when you execute it in a game!

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